More asparagus in May’s kitchen!

Another one from our recent visit to RHS Harlow Carr where Martin and I were on ‘The Potting Shed’ stage giving a talk on growing and cooking seasonal veg.

This is a really quick asparagus salad dish that is full of flavour and really shows off the taste of the first flush of asparagus spears.

I’m using raw asparagus so will only use the thinner spears and if you slice them on the diagonal you can still get long pieces that look great in a Spring time salad dish. Of course if you wanted to use some thicker spears you could blanch them in boiling water for just a minute then drain and refresh in ice cold water to keep their vibrant green colour.

Asparagus and spring onion salad

Serves 2, only takes a  few minutes to put together

4 slices of prosciutto

1 tblspn olive oil plus a good glug

½ tblspn lemon juice

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

¼ tspn Dijon mustard

Approx 300g asparagus, trimmed

2 or 3 spring onions

25g parmesan, shaved with a potato peeler

• Heat a small glug of oil in a large frypan and carefully add in the prosciutto slices. Fry until they have started to brown and crisp then carefully remove and lay on some paper towel to cool. When cool break up into bite size pieces – it will be really crispy now.
• Make the dressing – put the oil, lemon juice, garlic and mustard into a small bowl and whisk together until combined.
• Slice the asparagus diagonally to give long thin strips but keep the heads intact
• Slice the spring onions diagonally and put both together in a bowl along with the prosciutto and half the parmesan
• Pour over the dressing and gently toss everything together. Check the taste for seasoning. Spoon into your serving dish and scatter over the last of the parmesan shavings

This stands really well and will keep for a day in the fridge but is best served at room temperature.